Hunter's Guilt
by Vicious Pink
Summary: Phantasy Star II - Rudo has reached an impasse with his latest hunting job, as he is unable to obtain the explosives necessary to rescue Teim from Nido. Fortunately he runs into Rolf and Nei, who need the hunter as much as he needs them.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: Long ago I invented stories to go along with how Rolf might have met his teammates had they not shown up at his house so conveniently. I've finally started penning these stories, and this is the completed story of hunter Rudolf Steiner and his first encounter with Rolf. According to Nei's old SegaNet text adventure, Rudo already knew Nei before the events of Phantasy Star II. I incorporated elements of Nei's text game into this story._

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"Listen, Dolfie," the curvaceous woman behind the counter at Arima's weapons shop, Roni, playfully called Rudo, "you know that if I say explosives have been banned for civilian use, I'm not lying. You're probably the only person I don't lie to."

"I know, I know," Rudo grumbled back in frustration. "That's my luck, too. Another ban just in time for me to _need_ explosives."

"Doll, I would love nothing more than to sell you what I have left, really," Roni sympathized in her raspy voice as she flipped some of her wild, flame-orange hair behind her shoulder and leaned suggestively into the counter. "Normally I wouldn't even give a damn what that piece of junk computer has banned. Arima is under a microscope right now, though, thanks to those idiotic scoundrels. I'm just waiting for the military or some bootlicking guardians to confiscate what I have back there," she complained, sticking out a thumb in the direction of the shop's storage room.

Rudo thought for a moment, scratching his chin. He leaned his elbows into the counter and got eye-level with Roni. He threw on all the rugged charm he could muster as he tried his best at persuasion. "All right, then. What if I tell you it's for a good cause? To rescue a little girl?"

"Aw, Dolfie, it's always for a good cause," Roni whined. "In the two years I've known you, you've only taken the jobs involving so-and-so's kid or so-and-so's dear granny, the stuff no one else picks up because the families don't have much meseta to spare for the work. Twice the risk for half the pay! That pension of yours must be pretty sweet. Maybe you'll share it with me?" She toyed with the cool, blond hunter as she leaned forward a bit more, showing some cleavage in the process. She swung her hips side-to-side and gave Rudo a coy pout.

"My money already has a habit of disappearing in this shop, Roni! But if it means getting my hands on some dynamite..." he bartered, raising his eyebrows. She replied by giving him a "sorry, but no" head shake. The two weapons experts were known to carry on flirting with each other, though neither was ever serious about it. Roni thought it was good for business and Rudo thought it got him some bargains; both were right. Today, though, Rudo wasn't getting anywhere with the usual playful banter. He had one final trick up his sleeve, literally.

Rudo pushed up the sleeve of his black uniform to reveal a pouch velcroed around his forearm. He took it off and opened it, setting a red money card on the counter. He pushed it towards Roni. "All yours. You know how much the red ones are worth."

She eyed the card and put a finger on it, sliding it back and forth across the counter. She let out a long whistle and shook her head in awe. "Twelve thousand, huh?" She picked it up and played with it in her hand, then shot Rudo a wicked grin. "Y'know, it's pretty dangerous letting me hold this thing. I might just decide to keep it, hide it on me somewhere and leave it up to you to get it back," she teased, winking at him.

"Cute," Rudo replied with a smirk. "It's not going to get me the dynamite, is it?"

Roni sighed and handed him his card back provocatively between her index and middle fingers. "Sorry, Dollface," she apologized. "Why d'ya need dynamite to save a kid for, anyway? Sounds dangerous," she suddenly turned serious, giving Rudo a concerned expression.

He seemed puzzled she was worried. "Isn't it always?"

"I meant for the _girl_," she groaned and cocked her hips to one side.

"Oh, right."

"You sure this is a good idea?"

"No, but unless you have a master key to Nido, it's my only option."

"Nido?" she exclaimed, standing up straight, "You're breaking into an agritech building? Rudo, this isn't like you..."

"Roni," Rudo interrupted, looking at a spot on the wall, "due respect and all that, but if there's ever a time to be above the law, this is it." He stared back at the shocked store owner; his eyes carried a sadness she recalled from their first meeting two years ago. Suddenly she realized why he would risk coming under the scrutiny of the guardians, which made her sympathize even more with the sometimes dark and unpredictable hunter.

"The scoundrels. They're keeping her there, right? I get it now. I won't breathe a word of this, of course," she told him sincerely.

"I know," he sighed. "Now, about that dyn..."

Just then the front door buzzed, indicating the two friends had company. Rudo turned around to see a government agent and a human-like creature that looked eerily familiar enter the shop, but the agent alone was enough to end his pursuit of explosives.

_Damn,_ he thought. _I almost had Roni convinced, too._

He turned back to Roni and shook his head. She gave him a weary smile and a friendly pat on the upper arm.

"Sorry, Dollface. Bad timing strikes again. Who would've guessed an _agent,_ huh? Don't they do sissy stuff like investigate fraud?"

Rudo chuckled. "You're not making bogus insurance claims, are you?" he asked in jest.

"All right, you got me," she joked back, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Now scram. Looks like I'm going to have to grab my books and get down to business with this guy. Though, I don't get her..." Roni glared inquisitively at the purple-haired teenager accompanying the agent.

"Well, have fun with that," Rudo exhaled as he picked up his shotgun by the sling. He leaned into the counter one last time before leaving and murmured, "Meanwhile I'll be knocking on Fulvio's door and asking to borrow a cup of nitroglycerin."

Roni sighed heavily. "Just be careful, okay? Fulvio is on about a million guardian watchlists, ya know?" she cautioned him as she reached under the counter and pulled out a computer pad and a tag reader, ready to show the agent her inventory and accounting.

Rudo had already turned around when he put his hand up in a halfhearted farewell. "Yeah, yeah," he replied, brushing off the risk involved in obtaining dynamite from Motavia's most infamous rogue hunter.

He eyed the agent and his odd companion on the way out and finally remembered why the girl looked familiar. He had met a similar creature a little over seven months ago, only the one he had encountered was much younger, probably around eight years old. The one he was looking at now was almost identical except for the age difference. Had Mother Brain approved a new homo species on Motavia? Not that he really cared, but with all the crazy things happening on his planet lately he figured it might be somewhat significant. In any event, the two visitors to Roni's shop looked ill-prepared for a world full of biohazards.

"While you're here," he said, looking into the girl's striking red eyes, "make sure he gets something better than those knives, huh?" Rudo winked and pointed to the only weapons—two simple hunting knives—hanging from the agent's utility belt.

Rolf spun his head around, startled that the hunter was talking to them. Nei was most surprised, however, as she knew exactly who the hunter was. She didn't know him by name, but she had met him before Rolf took her in. She reached into the glove of one of her claws and pulled out a small charm. She was about to show it to the hunter, but he had already exited the store.

"Rolf!" she exclaimed, tugging on his shirt. "I know that guy!"

Rolf was still a bit embarrassed by the hunter's comment about his choice of weapons. "Really, Nei? If so, is he always that blunt?" Rolf looked at Nei and frowned.

"He's a good hunter, I swear! He gave me this," she showed him the charm that was hanging around a necklace chain.

"When did this happen?" Rolf was baffled. "You never told me about this."

"I guess I never really thought about it until now. I met him right before you rescued me, and everything before I met you is kind of a blur to me."

"I understand," Rolf said sympathetically, rustling Nei's purple hair. "Things haven't exactly been easy for you."

Nei stood in silence for a few seconds, contemplating her second encounter with the hunter. Her instincts told her that she had to talk to him again, that there was something important about seeing him at this moment. She didn't know what, as she didn't always understand her animal instincts, but she couldn't brush it off as coincidence. She gave Rolf an untamed look he was very familiar with. She often looked this way when her animal half was about to lead her to do something completely unpredictable.

"Nei?" he asked slowly. "What's going..."

Before Rolf could finish, Nei darted out the door.

Rolf slumped over and rolled his eyes. "Not again," he groaned as he put his hand out to catch the door as it slid shut. He turned to the shop owner and told her they'd be back in a little while.

"Sure thing," Roni called back. "Later, Ace!"

Rolf stepped outside and saw that Nei had already caught up with the hunter and was showing him her necklace. Flashes of reflected light flickered off the shiny silver charm in the shape of a bullet as Nei let it dangle from its chain. Rolf watched as the hunter, stunned, took the necklace in his hand and shook his head in disbelief. He made a gesture towards Nei, and Nei nodded back to him, pointing at herself.

As Rolf got closer to the pair of acquaintances, the hunter turned to him and shrugged his shoulders.

"What kind of creature is she, anyway?" he asked Rolf, amazed by Nei's rapid growth. "You know, the last time I saw her, she was... well she _looked_ like she was less than ten years old, but who knows."

Rolf scowled. "Could you not talk about Nei like that? She's right there and understands Palman, too."

"Oh, I don't mind, Rolf," Nei smiled at him. "This is Rudolf, by the way." She turned to Rudo again and took her necklace back so he could shake Rolf's hand.

"Rudolf Steiner, or just Rudo is fine," he greeted Rolf with an outstretched hand.

"Rolf Landale," he replied shaking Rudo's hand but giving him a cold stare.

"So you're... partners with Nei or something? I can't keep up with what the government is doing anymore," Rudo asked.

Rolf had no interest in talking with Rudo. He had come to Arima for a weapons boost, a quick visit to the medical clinic, and maybe press a few locals for information about the hunter currently holding up traffic on the north bridge, Darum, and his kidnapped daughter, Teim. It was almost high noon and with Arima's climate control systems having been downed by the invading scoundrels, the city was positively stifling. The longer Rolf stood outside the shop, the more he felt like he would melt into the shrapnel-fractured pavement. Rolf wanted to get out of the terror-wasted city as soon as possible.

"She's not my 'partner,' but she's allowed to accompany me while I'm on official duty. Which, by the way, I need to get back to. Come on, Nei," Rolf said as he reached for her arm.

Nei quickly dodged his grasp. "Hey, wait a minute!" she griped at Rolf.

"Nei..." Rolf started but was immediately cut off by the overly excited numan.

"I think Rudo can help us!" she interrupted in a buoyant voice.

Both men grumbled and tried not to look at each other. Rolf instead watched the frenzied activity at the teleport station, where a line wrapped around the entire building maybe three or four times. Guardians and hunters acted as interim crowd control in place of the usual patrol robots, which had all been taken out as part of the attack on Arima a few days prior to Rolf's arrival. People were attempting to leave the city, but the only way out was through the teleportation tubes, of which only two had been successfully reactivated since the attack. It was a terrible evacuation system, and for some reason the military still had not been deployed to Arima to help with the process.

Suddenly Rolf felt Nei nudging him.

"I mean it, guys," Nei said as she put her hands on both Rolf and Rudo. "Rolf, tell him what we're doing."

"Nei! Seriously, we're done here. You know I can't tell him..."

Driven once again by instinct rather than proper judgment, Nei burst out again, not caring about the sensitivity of Rolf's mission. "We're rescuing Darum's daughter, Teim!"

Both men shouted at once. Rolf bellowed Nei's name and Rudo repeated Teim's name, not at all expecting to hear the agent was assigned to a hostage situation.

"You're insane, Agent Landale! You expect to get into Nido with a pair of knives?" Rudo blurted out in utter shock.

Rolf was about to chastise Nei for her outburst, but was taken aback at the mention of Nido.

"What are you talking about? The scoundrels aren't in Nido."

"Seems I have better intell than the government, then," Rudo eyed Rolf suspiciously, crossing his arms.

"You think Teim's in Nido?" Rolf asked.

Rudo said nothing but continued to stare at the confused agent. After a few moments Rudo finally broke the silence. "I think I've told you enough."

"No kidding," Rolf retaliated, taking Nei by the arm and turning back to the weapons shop.

Nei fumed. "_Stop! Stop it right now!_" she yelled, breaking away from Rolf and giving Rudo a look of desperation. "Rudo, please help us. The scoundrels haven't been active for two days now. Central Command thinks they're dead."

"_Nei!_" Rolf screamed.

Rudo shifted his eyes back to the agent again. "Dead? How would they know?"

Rolf looked like he was ready to explode. "If you think..."

"One of the scoundrels is a tree," Nei offered.

Rolf groaned and put his head in his hands. Rudo was thoroughly confused.

"A... _tree?_" Rudo stared at Nei.

"Plant," Rolf sighed. "She means a plant. You might as well know that since Nei has no discretion." He glared at his traveling companion.

"You'll thank me, Rolf," she smiled back at him. Rolf just shook his head.

"If that's the case, then it's important we get to Nido right away," Rudo asserted. "Maybe now that you're here, we won't need explosives."

"Explo... _we? _What's going on here? There is no 'we'!" Rolf proclaimed.

"Don't worry!" Nei said to Rudo. "The tree told us..."

"_Plant, _Nei, and _would you stop talking, please?_" Rolf ordered.

Rudo stepped directly in front of Rolf and looked the agent over. "Looks like we both have information that's useful to rescuing Teim. I have no idea why the government is involved, as they don't give a damn what happens to people once they step outside the city, but in this case I don't care. You're an agent; get us a key or explosives and I will deliver Teim to you."

"That's just it, though," Nei joined in. "The scoundrels _have _explosives. In Shure!"

Rolf threw his hands up and barked at Nei, "Why did I even bother to bring you along?"

"Someone within the scoundrels must have suspected your 'tree,' since he was unaware Teim is actually in Nido," Rudo continued, talking around the enraged agent. "So there are explosives in Shure? All right, but how are we getting into Shure?"

"There is... no... _we!_" Rolf insisted.

"Oh, there's a 'we,' kid, and there's no way you're leading this motley crew until you get some firepower or at least a blade that's bigger than your pinky."

"Rudo's coming with us!" Nei squealed with excitement.

Rolf looked up and wailed at the bright, noonday sky. "Why? _Why?_ Wasn't there _anyone else _Commander O'Conner could have sent on this mission?" His voice trailed off into a long, frustrated moan. He stood there in defeat, half wishing lightning would strike him.

Rudo and Nei were already making their way back to the weapons shop. Rolf could hear Nei blabbing all the details of his mission to Rudo, and even offering her own insight into what they should do. Rudo listened intently to all her talking, and nodded his head as Nei went on.

"Rolf said biomonsters breached Shure and cornered the scoundrels on the upper floor. That's the last we heard from the tree guy. Anyone can walk right into Shure now, but it's crawling with biomonsters! We've been there! We had to come back for better weapons."

"Smart move," Rudo replied.

"Oh! You know what Rolf is really good with? Swords! He used to be in some kind of swordy-type competitions. He has awards all over the house!"

"I bet that impresses the ladies," Rudo dryly remarked.

"Let's get him a sword!" Nei jumped up and down, thrilled to help out Rolf.

_This better be worth all the overtime and hazard pay, _Rolf grumbled in his own head as he followed Nei and Rudo into the weapons store, gathering what was left of his sanity along the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Rudo felt queasy. "I will _never _get used to that hinas technique," he moaned as he put a hand on the outer wall of Nido and leaned into it. "Maybe it's because I can't use techniques myself, but it always feels like I've been turned inside out then back again." Even though he knew he had made it out of Nido in one piece, he still patted himself down after catching his breath, the way he always did after being teleported. Whether science or technique, the mighty hunter never fully trusted teleportation. It seemed odd to him that people were so willing to be rearranged on the molecular level and reconstructed just to save travel time. He cast a glance at Rolf, who was calmly dialing his mobile unit for Central in Paseo to relay that the group had Darum's daughter, Teim, in their custody.

"Hinas never felt strange to me," Rolf said flippantly as he tapped out a message to the Commander. "As soon as I'm done with this message I'll take us back to Paseo, so get ready for some ryuka, too," he warned Rudo, looking at the hunter out of the corner of his eye as he continued to type.

Rudo merely shrugged. Ryuka, hinas, teleportation and the like were a part of life in Algol these days, so much so that vehicles were hard to come by and the mass transit systems lay in decay all over Motavia. He stared up at one of the dilapidated elevated train tracks that once brought hundreds of workers to Nido Tower every day. Now the building, which supported all of the nearby agridomes, was completely automated.

The terrorist group—unnamed, but its members simply referred to as "scoundrels" by those they terrorized—who had hacked into Nido's security system and reset the controls to cover their movements, were all but dead now. They could be counted among the ever-growing list of biomonster victims, yet in their case it was a sort of divine (or, more accurately, bioengineered) retribution, a justice dealt for their own heinous crimes. Had Rolf, Rudo and Nei not blasted their way into Nido to retrieve their last hostage, Teim, she too would surely have been another of the scoundrels' casualties, maybe not at their own hands, but because she was left for dead in the tower after the scoundrels had met their untimely deaths. No building, it seemed, was strong enough to keep out biomonsters without constant human intervention. Since no humans came to Nido anymore, it was only a matter of time before it, too, suffered the same fate as the other soulless, computer-run facilities across Motavia.

Teim had been able to hold her own against the biomonster infestation for nearly a week before her rescue. Rolf's group was impressed, but perhaps being the daughter of one of Motavia's most formidable hunters had its advantages. Her survival skills were well-tuned for someone in her early teens. Rudo watched as Nei was comforting the young woman. Though a half-breed of only about two years of age, Nei obviously had some inherent nurturing instincts; she had stayed close to Teim since the group located her and had ultimately been the one to convince Teim they were there to free her.

Rolf had decided not to show Teim the ransom note found on the body of a scoundrel in Shure, fearing for Teim's emotionally fragile state. Instead, Rolf planned to take Teim to Paseo where the Commander could decide how best to proceed with Darum's seizure of the north bridge. More than likely a video conference would be set up with Darum so that he could see that Teim was now safe, though there was more than a little skepticism between Rolf and Rudo that Darum would suddenly give himself up calmly even with Teim now rescued. Darum had reached the point of no return, really. His past problems with authority, ironically involving Nei, and now the north bridge situation meant that Darum would most likely be incarcerated for life. Teim would be a desperate last attempt at a peaceful surrender before Darum would be taken out with extreme force.

It was hard to see Teim's face through the veil she had been given by Rolf as a way to keep her safe once they arrived back in Paseo. Darum's and Teim's faces were all over the various media; it was hot news, and a momentary distraction from the biomonster problem. Even though Rudo couldn't see her expression, he sensed she had been thrown into an enormous shock. Nei had been distracting her with conversation, but Teim wasn't participating. Her head hung low and she rocked nervously, balled up on the ground and hugging her knees tightly. Rudo was about to walk over to her and say something as well, but she suddenly got up and moved towards Rudo and Rolf.

Rolf looked up from his messaging as Teim drew closer. Nei followed along, eventually clinging to Rolf's arm as she often did. She looked at Teim sweetly and asked her, "Is everything all right?"

There was dead silence among Teim's three rescuers as they waited for her to say something. Only a few seconds later she began bawling and mumbling something incomprehensible. The group hesitated, eyeballing each other and wondering how to handle the teenager.

"I'm sorry," Teim's tiny voice squeaked through her crying, barely audible to the other three.

Rudo glanced at Rolf, hoping he had been able to understand what Teim had said.

"What?" Rolf asked Teim, reaching for her. "Is there something we can do for..."

"I'm so sorry!" she uttered, this time quite plainly heard. "I'm so sorry I have to do this!"

Rolf, Rudo and Nei now looked on in bafflement, shaking their heads and shrugging.

"What do you mean by..." Rudo began, but was instantaneously crushed by a wave of technique power, one that knocked him out cold. Rolf and Nei were also hit by the same force. When he came to he glanced over to find Rolf and Nei almost buried in the ground from the force of what was probably the gravity technique commonly referred to as "gra." Thankfully he still had a couple of dimates on hand and quickly administered the medicine to his companions.

"That had to have been at the very least gigra," Rolf groaned as Rudo helped him to his feet. Nei was already standing again, adjusting her leotard and fiber vest and smoothing her hair. "I should have known! I'm so stupid! Of course, the daughter of a master technique user probably knows a few things about techniques herself. I shouldn't have wasted any time getting her back to Paseo!"

"I wouldn't beat yourself up about this, kid," Rudo reassured Rolf, flicking a piece of sod out of the agent's hair. "I have a feeling she would have done this whether we were still standing here or whether we had made it to Paseo already."

"True, but blast it all, where is she now?" Rolf looked around.

Rudo raised an eyebrow. "Where do you think she is?"

Rolf's jaw hung open. A quick glance at his mobile unit revealed they had been knocked out for almost two hours. "Oh, no. We'll never make it in time!" he uttered, not wasting another second hanging around Nido. Without warning, Rolf and his companions were engulfed in the white light of his ryuka technique, instantaneously teleporting the group back to Paseo. The group found themselves outside Paseo's data and records facility. Rudo, pale and in a sweat, looked on at Rolf in his rattled state.

"A little notice would have been nice," he complained as he panted, doubling over and turning a corner to the side of the building to retch. Nei grimaced.

"Rudo's sick! Should I use res?" she asked Rolf worriedly.

Rolf shook his head and turned to Nei in confidentiality. "I can't believe someone his size has trouble teleporting. He's built like a tank! No matter, I guess. As soon as the Darum situation is over he won't have to stick around with us anymore, anyway."

"Aw," Nei pouted, "but I was hoping he'd come with us to..."

"Nei! Not again, please! What did I tell you about this mission?" Rolf griped at Nei, this time making sure to cover her mouth in case she continued talking despite his orders.

Rudo reappeared, wiping his brow and straightening his posture. "Normally I'd be thanking the Light we can't teleport to the north bridge, but unfortunately that would come in handy about now. I think we better get leaving as soon as possible. You have a land rover?"

Rolf looked away sheepishly. "Um, well, no. The Commander thought it would compromise the low profile of this mission."

Rudo groaned in disbelief. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever... oh, who cares. This whole world is confusing. Let's just go. There's no time now to try and convince the Commander to lend us one back at Central." Rudo charged ahead, towards one of the city's main exits.

"Hey!" Rolf quickly followed behind; Nei also hot on his heels. "You're not in charge here!" He gave Rudo an evil eye as he marched past him. Rolf knew that he would never have been able to get through Shure and Nido without Rudo, but part of him was still smarting from Rudo inviting himself along to help with the mission. Nevertheless, Rolf had informed the Commander that he needed Rudo's assistance, and Rudo had been added to the payroll temporarily while they rescued Teim.

Rolf had not come to terms with the fact that he would need someone like Rudo even after the north bridge had been cleared. He was still trying to convince himself that he and Nei were perfectly capable of retrieving the Biosystems Lab's data recorder on their own. Even if he did need more personnel to help with Biosystems, he would rather have another agent along and not some drifter like Rudo, despite Rudo's experience and undeniable courage under fire. Though Rolf was appreciative of Rudo's eagerness to help—Rolf still didn't know the real reasons why—Rudo's banzai approach to everything clashed with Rolf's more meticulous and careful analysis of dangerous situations, which led to moments like this one: Rolf found himself pushed into taking action before he had time to think it out properly.

Perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing in this instance, now that Rolf's group was running out of daylight. It would take another hour at least to make it to the north bridge. Rolf and the others could only hope that they would make it there before Teim. Technique memory for the use of ryuka had to be updated regularly at specific data facilities, and the one in Arima had been out of service since the scoundrels' attack. That meant that it had probably been too long since Teim had last updated her use of ryuka in Paseo, so more than likely she was traveling to the north bridge on foot.

It became apparent about five minutes into their frantic pace outside the city that faster was not better. First they were ambushed by a group of fire ants, then a much stronger group of poison snakes. One of the snakes momentarily paralyzed Rolf, though its venom was weak. In the case of both attacks, it was Nei who had dealt the most blows. Her movements were always swift, and through her animal instincts she was able to easily dodge the biomonsters' many attempts to strike back. After she ripped apart the last of the snakes with her steel claws, she immediately turned to Rolf, retracted her claws and performed her res technique to heal his wounds. She always tended to him first, not that Rudo minded. He knew where her loyalties were and didn't expect special treatment. Besides, Rudo was used to doing things on his own. He applied a bit of monomate to a minor scratch and dismissed Nei politely with the wave of his hand as she made her way over to tend to him.

"New plan," Rolf addressed Nei and Rudo as he rubbed his freshly-healed forearm. "I've been saving this for an extreme emergency, and it looks like now's as good a time as ever to use it." He reached into his bag and pulled out a special, single-use ocarina called a "hidapipe." The expensive woodwind would hide their tracks and repel weaker creatures. It worked by releasing a pollen-like dust of highly concentrated biomonster aggregation pheromones that would surround the users. The high-pitched frequencies of the pipe's notes also caused confusion in the biomonsters' migratory patterns. Rolf quickly broke the seal covering the hidapipe's many holes and blew a small sequence of notes. Nei, Rolf and Rudo were now covered in the hidapipe's dust cloud. Nei noted that it "tingled," but otherwise she was human enough to be unaffected by the hidapipe.

"Now," Rolf said as he stuffed the used pipe into his bag, "we can run!" Rudo and Nei nodded in agreement and they soon found a jogging pace they were all comfortable with. It wasn't long before they had crossed the smaller canal bridge and had the north bridge in their sights. There was no sign of Teim or Darum, but the bridge was covered and had specific, controlled entry points that were at the moment completely closed.

Nei concentrated her senses on the surroundings as she ran. Suddenly her eyes grew wide and she audibly gasped. "She's already here!" she exclaimed as she nearly pushed Rolf down, sprinting ahead to the bridge's main entry.

"Nei!" Rolf shouted as he picked up his pace to meet hers. It was impossible to catch her, as he quickly discovered, and she was already reaching for the bridge's keypad when Rolf and Rudo finally caught up to her. "Don't touch, Nei! The wrong code could send a storm of enforcement androids our direction!" Rolf warned Nei, moving her out of the way and nervously dialing in an entry code. Just then a woman's scream came from inside the bridge, followed by cries of a man, presumably Darum. Rolf, Rudo and Nei traded shocked expressions as they waited for the heavy doors to open completely. Darum had knocked out much of the bridge's lighting, but the remaining daylight from the open doors illuminated two figures a short distance down the covered bridge, one of Teim lying motionless on the ground in a growing pool of blood, and the other of Darum kneeling over her and weeping uncontrollably. The group fixed their eyes on the two bodies, each of them coming to the same conclusion about what had just happened.

"I... I didn't know..." Darum stuttered, his voice broken and his eyes glazed over. "_I didn't know! She didn't tell me!_" He threw his sword down and scooped Teim awkwardly into his arms, cradling her and wailing deliriously.

Rudo began breathing heavily through his nose. Rolf and Nei watched as Rudo's entire demeanor turned to one of extreme rage as his face turned red, his teeth gnashed, his fists tightened and the veins on his neck nearly popped out. "You..." he panted as he pointed a finger at the veteran hunter, "_You _are the real monster!" he forcefully accused Darum through his clenched jaw. Rolf, worried that the entire situation was about to escalate to something worse than what was already a terrible outcome, tried talking Rudo into stepping aside while he called in the authorities. He put a hand on Rudo's shoulder, but Rudo immediately batted it away and shot Rolf an infuriated look. "How can you be calm right now? Do you realize what he's done? What we've done? Do you realize it's our fault that Teim..."

"No, it's not your fault," Darum interrupted, resting Teim on the ground and standing up. "I _am _a monster, and I must be exterminated like all monsters!" He unfastened his hunting vest to reveal the sticks of plastic explosives strapped around his midsection. Rolf and Rudo barely had time to react. Rolf shoved Nei out of the bridge, knowing she wouldn't have a clue what she was looking at, and Rudo took the rear, instinctively using himself as a shield for the rest of the group. They flattened themselves to the ground just before Darum blasted himself into oblivion. The percussive explosion sent a rush of heat, air and debris out the bridge's entrance and over the three comrades who were now one with the ground.

They waited. No one moved for several minutes for fear of another blast. Rolf stroked Nei's hair and reassured her that they had done everything they could. Rudo didn't share Rolf's sentiment, but there was no point in arguing. If it's what Nei needed to hear to feel better, then so be it, Rudo thought. He pivoted his head in the direction of the bridge, looking at the now partially burned-out structure.

_How many more will it take, Mother Brain? _Rudo angrily wondered.

* * *

_Note: The story's not over! At least one more chapter to go!_

_Another note: I realize I've completely rewritten how the Darum/Teim situation plays out. That's because I really don't like the way it's presented in the game. It's my hope that I've re-imagined it in a way that stays true to the original story but presents it as much more believable. In the game, Rolf, Nei and Rudo basically hand-deliver Teim to Darum. They allow her to confront Darum alone (and veiled to disguise her identity), and they don't intervene-or they're not close enough to intervene-when Darum attacks and kills his own daughter.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Rudo sat on the front steps of Rolf's house and waited for Rolf to return from Central Tower. For some reason Rolf told him to wait until he got back before Rudo departed Paseo. Rudo didn't mind waiting, since he was unsure what he was going to do next. He once thought becoming a hunter would give him some redemption after he lost his family, but now that Teim was dead, he realized that hunting had a major downside. Teim might not be the only victim he would be unable to save, and reliving death was not something Rudo was very interested in.

The incident at the north bridge was still very fresh in Rudo's mind, and he couldn't help but feel like a failure. He hadn't felt this way in over two years, and it brought back a lot of painful memories he had long tried to suppress. It wasn't enough to remind himself that it was really the government's fault for not taking care of Teim's rescue immediately, rather than wait for Darum, a convicted criminal, to seize the bridge in order to collect her ransom.

Rolf, Nei and Rudo weren't skilled at handling terrorist victims, and had no clue just how emotionally unhinged Teim was until it was too late. No one was sure why the teenager hadn't revealed her true identity to her own father, but now that Rudo had time to think about it, there was no way they could have predicted she would even want to see him. Hadn't Teim called her father a "worthless thug" upon their first mention of Darum back in Nido? Perhaps her goal wasn't to act as the family diplomat and convince her father to come to his senses, but rather to take him out. Rudo was appalled he could think such a thing, however probable it might be.

Rudo would have counted his blessings his own family had been so stable and loving and not like the obvious dysfunction of Darum's, but no one was a winner here: Not Rudo, not Rolf, not Nei, not the people they were trying to help. Rudo wasn't even sure who or what to be mad at anymore. Himself? The system? The Great Light? Maybe it was time for him to live off his military pension and forget about trying to do anything or help anyone.

He looked down at the letter he had been holding, the date of which was over two years ago, and the letterhead was official military. It was the last thing the Army had given him before he was forced into early retirement. He knew that keeping it with him and reading it over and over again probably wasn't helping him move on, but it had become an object he used to motivate him in his hunting jobs. He thought that reading it right now would stir some of that motivation once again.

_"…It is with our most sincere regret that we inform you of the command decision to terminate your service with the Department of the Palman Armed Forces, effective April 13, 1282…"_

"Twelve years," Rudo said aloud to himself. "I gave you twelve straight, dutiful years, and all that time is reduced to this…" he paused to read more, skipping over a paragraph of what felt to him like insincere sympathy over the loss of his family.

_"…Provision 8B of the Palman Military Code states that…"_

"Yes, of course, let's make it official," Rudo said sarcastically.

_"…because you have declined to undergo a mental health evaluation…"_

"I shouldn't have to take one! Just because my family…" his voice broke off.

_"…therefore your separation is automatic in accordance with…"_

Rudo had tortured himself enough. He folded up the letter and rose to his feet. No one told him back at the recruiting station almost 15 years ago that if he lost his family and then refused to submit to a psychological assessment afterward the Palman government would kick him to the curb. Rudo knew why, though. Suicide across Motavia was on the rise, and one way to ensure keeping those numbers low in the military was to get rid of anyone who was even the slightest risk. Rudo's situation was probably considered very high risk. He knew this, but refused the mental services, anyway.

Looking back on it, maybe it wasn't the most rational thing to do. Why did he refuse? Pride? It wasn't pride, he decided. He knew the real reason why, but admitting it brought out a very dark side of himself that even he was scared of. He wanted out because his unit wasn't assigned to the biomonster infestations, and after his family died, he wanted to kill every last goddamn beast that even looked like it would touch another innocent creature.

Rudo tried to shake his black thoughts as he turned around and rang the doorbell. Rather than remotely unlocking the door, Nei took it upon herself to greet Rudo in person. As the door slid open, Rudo was welcomed by her cheerful smile. He hadn't been greeted like that in a very long time, and it helped wash away some of his grief. He grinned back and rubbed her shoulder on his way into Rolf's house.

"I wish you would stay," Nei told him sincerely as Rudo walked past her and into the living room. "Rolf says I'm not supposed to tell you anything, but I think he really needs your help."

Rudo sat down hard on the sofa next to his packed bag and stuffed the letter into a side pouch. "Rolf's a smart agent. Whatever it is he's assigned to, I'm sure he'll do fine without me. Besides," Rudo gestured towards Nei, "he has you, doesn't he?"

Nei seemed surprised by Rudo's comment. "Me?"

Rudo gave her a wry grin. "Nei, come on. Don't be so modest. I know you're not _that_ naive."

"Well," Nei tilted her head bashfully, "I always want to be there for him as much as I can. He rescued me and took me in, after all. But you know what?" she asked him, lowering her voice to a whisper.

Rudo leaned over the edge of the sofa, closer to where Nei was standing in the adjoining hallway. "What?" he replied in the same whisper.

"Don't tell Rolf, but I think someday I want to be a hunter like you," she said as she walked over and knelt next to him, her face bright with excitement.

Even after the Darum incident, Nei remained resilient. She certainly had a survivalist's mentality; it made Rudo admire her even more. Whatever situation his life had been dealt, he couldn't compare it to Nei's. Despite all that she had been through, she kept on going. Rudo knew it was beyond her youth and her animal instincts, too, and that she admired him and his occupation made the last of his gloominess disappear. He suddenly wished he _could_ help Rolf and Nei, and he had a pretty good idea of what Rolf was really assigned to. The north bridge wasn't the end of it, Rudo figured, but rather the beginning.

"You would make an excellent hunter," Rudo told Nei enthusiastically. "No, I take that back. You _are _an excellent hunter."

Nei beamed with pride. "I do like helping others. Only, I don't know, Rudo, but Rolf's about to do something very dangerous and I..."

Just then the front door opened and Rolf's silhouette filled the doorway. Nei immediately rushed over to him to take his bag and equipment like she always did, and Rolf, as usual, tried to tell her she didn't need to do that. A silly dance between Nei's pawing of Rolf and Rolf's dodging of Nei ensued. Rudo chuckled a little to himself while watching the whole thing unfurl. Being with Rolf and Nei over the past week had reminded him of how fulfilling it was to be a part of a team. Maybe it was time for him to stop working alone and join the hunter's guild.

Rolf finally gave in to Nei and she happily skipped away to his bedroom with his belongings. Rolf straightened his clothes and hair, and entered the living room with an exhausted look on his face.

"I shouldn't be this tired," he moaned as he plopped into an easy chair and leaned back as far as he could, staring at the ceiling. "I'm 21. Where's my energy?"

"Well, just wait until you're 35, then," Rudo remarked with a raised eyebrow. "If you want, I can name all the aches and pains that fill my days, just to give you an idea."

Rolf sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ah, I know. I shouldn't complain. You're right."

"Complain all you want," Rudo shrugged. "I have all day. In fact, my calendar is empty for the foreseeable future."

Rolf stared at Rudo curiously. "You don't have any upcoming jobs?"

"I haven't checked the listings at Roni's shop lately, just in case this last job took a while."

"About that..." Rolf continued to stare at Rudo, lowering his head. "You never told us who contracted you to rescue Teim. Her grandparents, I assume? It must have been a pretty hefty sum, the way you..."

"It wasn't about the money," Rudo interrupted curtly as he stood up with his bag and headed towards Rolf's wall safe, where Rudo had locked up his weapons.

Rolf rose from his chair as well and followed the hunter. "You're leaving? After just saying you had nothing else to do?"

Rudo pulled his rifle and shotgun out of the wall and turned around to Rolf. "Give me a reason to stay, Rolf, and I'll stay," he pushed for Rolf to divulge more information about his mission.

Rolf hesitated as he stared at the floor. He twisted his face a few times as he thought about going through the Biosystems Lab with just Nei. Could he really do that to Nei? Somewhere between pride and reason Rolf had to find a compromise. This mission wasn't about him, and the Commander already gave him permission to hire additional personnel as needed. In fact, in his pocket was Rudo's meseta card for helping with the north bridge situation. He had already worked with the hunter, so what was keeping him from asking for his continued assistance?

As Rolf looked up, he found he had hesitated too long and Rudo was heading towards the door.

"Wait!" Rolf called to Rudo as he caught up with him. "I'm sorry I didn't give this to you earlier." He pulled out the meseta card and handed it to Rudo.

Rudo stared at the card without taking it. After a few seconds he furrowed his brow and said, "I don't want it. I didn't deliver Teim safely to her family, therefore I refuse payment."

"But the mission wasn't about..." Rolf began, but then hesitated.

Rudo gave Rolf his undivided attention. "...Yes?"

Rolf grimaced as he rubbed the back of his neck. He let out a frustrated groan. He knew about Rudo's family, and was afraid that mentioning Teim wasn't what the government was really after would be too personal for Rudo. Finally he decided it was now or never. He took a deep breath and said as he exhaled, "I needed that bridge cleared to get to Biosystems."

Rudo's eyes widened. It was just as he thought; Rolf was really investigating the source of the biomonster outbreak. About time, Rudo thought. The accident at Biosystems happened over two years ago, so it was a wonder the government waited this long. However, Rudo found himself torn between wanting to help and the realization that the government really didn't care at all about Teim.

"Answer this," Rudo said as he scratched his chin. "Do you think what happened at the north bridge was a success?"

"Absolutely not!" Rolf answered indignantly. "I've replayed the whole thing in my mind several times and considered all the things I'd do differently if I had it to do all over again."

"So have I," Rudo said quietly. A long pause between the two followed; both avoided looking at the other. Finally, Rolf broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about Teim. I didn't consider her just a step in the process. I wanted her safe with her grandparents, too." There was another pause that was only interrupted after Rolf felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see the hunter nodding his head in understanding.

"Keep the meseta. Put it in a fund for Nei; she deserves it. As for the Biosystems Lab," he said as he extended his other hand to Rolf, "I want to come with you."

"Welcome aboard, Rudo," Rolf said as he shook Rudo's hand firmly and grinned back at his new friend and partner.

* * *

_Note: Done! Hooray! I know the circumstances presented here surrounding Rudo's separation from the military differ from the game and other Phantasy Star publications, but it's been my goal to characterize Rudo as less revenge-driven and more about being a hunter to save others from the same fate as his family._

_Rudo's preliminary settei mentions he joins the military at age 20, and that's what I'm going by when I mentioned he was in the military for 12 years. Of course, that same settei also has his parents dying when he's 20 and describes him as suicidal (gee, you think? His entire family is dead). It's quite depressing, and I'm glad much of it was abandoned. It also describes him as being modeled after Rutger Hauer, being of German descent (in Algol? What were those Earthmen up to, anyway?), and having the hair and eye color of Commander Straker from the British television show _UFO_. In other words, I think Rudo was supposed to be the whitest white guy ever. Also, Nei is very fond of Rudo because he smells like Rolf. Anyway, just found that amusing._

_While I'm typing out notes, I'd like to take a moment to thank my friend, Xander, for playing through the recently translated _Rudger's Adventure_ and giving me a very detailed walkthrough of the game. There are a lot of interesting things in it, unfortunately I couldn't find a way to integrate them into this story. However, you all may know I'm working on another story, "Warming Up," that's more or less a Rudo/Amy ship. I'll be sure to add elements of Rudo's text game into that story, so be on the lookout!  
_


End file.
